Northern Lights
by Painting Clouds
Summary: "She's as mad as Hanje," Erwin smirked, glancing at Levi out of the corner of his eye. "She just tends to hide it better." The shorter male stared at the teenager as she listened to Hanje blabber about her beloved Titans. He inwardly smirked, already making his decision. Eventual Levi/OC


**Northern Lights  
**_by: Painting Clouds_

* * *

Summary: "She's as mad as Hanje," Erwin smirked, glancing at Levi out of the corner of his eye. "She just tends to hide it better." The shorter male stared at the teenager as she listened to Hanje blabber about her beloved Titans. Putting a few words here and there, the copper haired female glanced in his direction, holding his gaze before settling her eyes back on her crazy friend. He inwardly smirked, already making his decision. Eventual Levi/OC Rated M for gore, langauage, and sexual themes later on.

* * *

i.  
Percy

_"I was sick of the pampered life while soldiers died for ungrateful asses like my parents."_

_._

_You're doing great, _she thought, keeping her eyes straight ahead, retaining a stoic expression. _Don't even look at him. _Percy held her breath as the instructor walked past her, going on to the next cadet beside her. _Don't even glance at him. You're doing great. _The stiffness in her shoulders loosened unnoticeably as the seasoned soldier moved on, looking for his next victim. The curious fourteen year old took a leap of luck and peeked at the trainee beside her, seeing a small brunette with a nervous frown on her face. Looking away, Percy gaze softened, knowing that the brunette won't last long.

_You're doing great._

Her breath caught in her lungs when the instructor stood in front of her, a stern look on his face as he glared down at her. She let her eyes meet his, her heart stuttering at the startling orange that glowered back. "And just who the hell are you, cadet?!" He yelled, his voice loud enough to echo in Percy's head.

She saluted quickly, her movements fluid and expression collected. "My name is Percy Chaplin, from the Ehrmich District, sir!" There was no need for her to state which district she was from. She was a Chaplin after all and everyone knew where her family resided.

Whispers immediately sprouted, growing like flames as all eyes turned to the dark copper haired female. She cursed her surname, wishing that she was anything but a Chaplin. "So the Military Police for you, cadet?!" Ivan Mades screeched, sneering at the young teenager.

Clenching her jaw, Percy's eyes hardened at the accusation, her shoulders rigid. "I wish to join the Survey Corps, sir!"

"Hm?" He looked at her with great interest for a moment, knowing that what she said was true. Silence hung over the courtyard, awaiting for Mades' reaction. They were sorely disappointed when he nodded at the fourteen year old and walked away, Percy's arm moving back to her side as her jaw unclenched itself. Her heartbeat calm and her chest feeling lighter.

_You're doing wonderfully._

* * *

Percy looked around blankly, spotting an empty table before making her way over to the unoccupied furniture and settling down, her brown eyes staring at her rations: a piece of bread, some soup, and water. As she moved to grab her bread, the young girl bit back a moan, feeling the weight of her aching muscles as today's training finally set in. Since living a life where everything seemed to be handed to you on a silver platter, physical exertion wasn't needed in her household.

"Isn't that the Chaplin brat?"

Percy's body went stiff at the mention of her name, her hand grasping the bread and breaking it into pieces as she ate slowly, cautious almost. Dipping the bread in the soup, the copper haired girl listened intensely, her movements unfaltering (no matter how much her muscles screamed).

"Yeah, that's most definitely her."

"Didn't she say she wanted to join the Survey Corps?"

"Pft. Yeah, right! She probably just said that to get Mades out of her face. Just look at her—she won't be able to last out there as a member of the Survey Corps! Hell, she barely survived training today."

"Yeah, you're probably right…"

The cadets' conversation steered into a different direction and Percy decided to block everyone out, her anger flaring inside her stomach as she continued eating before finishing and walking out of the mess hall. The cool night hair hit her face, cooling her temper and causing her bones to sting. Jaw twitching, Percy closed her eyes, welcoming the pain before walking away from the mess hall and trekking to the cabin she and three others were assigned to. Letting her eyes take in the surroundings, the brown-eyed teenager paused when she saw a library.

She looked behind her, seeing that the cadets who littered outside of the mess hall were either talking to their friends or weren't looking in her general direction. Turning her gaze back to the shack, she sauntered over to the 'library'. She opened the door and saw that the light was already on, giving her a good look at the many shelves filled with thick, hardbacks. She let her fingers skim over the titles, seeing that most of the collection was about Titans and their physiology.

_Titans: A History_

Percy's steps halted when her eyes caught sight of the title, her fingers twitching as her eyes grew wide with interest. She grasped the volume from its place, opening it to the first page and letting her eyes absorb the words off the yellowed pages.

_In the beginning, _she read, sinking to the floor, _humans were the number one predator and rarely the prey. We were spread throughout the continent, our numbers increasing everyday. We held the world in our hands, choosing its fate as our own to decide. Greedy and selfish, we conquered other kingdoms. Wars were won, and lives were lost to the Reaper himself. Our power grew, becoming something else entirely. It wasn't until that day that humanity was reminded that our actions must not go without punishment._

_They came out of the very depths of Hell, and with no mercy or remorse, devoured us. We were forced to run from our homes as our neighbors and family were engulfed by their jaws. Mangled and barely recognizable, we gathered as many corpses we could and burned the remains of the ones who were unfortunately feasted upon by these demons. As we tried fighting back, we found that guns were no match for these cannibalistic giants. Their skins were as rough as an elephant's hide and deformed to the point of inhumane._

_Because of their monstrous height, we simply labeled them 'Titans'._

_They had no reproductive organs, implying that they were created. They were a plague, spreading destruction, agony, and grief across the land. We had no choice but to run and build thick, concrete walls to keep us in and keep them out. Three walls were built to insure the safety of the royal family:_

_Wall Maria, the outermost wall, holding the 'peasants' of the kingdom. Wall Rose, the second outer wall, holding the less 'insignificant' people. Wall Sina, the innermost wall, holding the nobles and royal family._

_We created three branches of government: The Military Police who reside in Wall Sina, protecting the king. The Garrison, which is the largest of all military divisions and protects and maintains order near the Walls. The Survey Corps, who goes by many names, is the most active branch of military, involved in Titan combat and human expansion._

"Cadet Chaplin!"

Percy was ripped away from the words by the voice of Ivan Mades, quickly standing to salute her superior. "Yes, sir!"

His eyes narrowed at the book under her arm. "What are you doing in here? It's past curfew."

Swallowing, the fourteen year old brought the book around, showing him the title. "I was reading, sir. I didn't realize it was so late," she looked down at the ground, remembering a time when her father would scold her for not acting like a lady and staying up to read. "I'm sorry, sir." When she was met with silence, her eyes traveled from the floor to her instructor, witnessing that he was staring at her with a perplexed manner. "Sir?"

It was a moment before he responded, but what he said wasn't what she expected, "Did you truly mean what you said today? About joining the Scout Regiment?"

Hugging the tome to her chest, the youngest Chaplin set an unwavering scowl on the older man. "I was sick of the pampered life while soldiers died for ungrateful asses like my parents," she said, her voice unyielding. "I want to make a difference and experience the outside world, unlike most cowards who want to get fat behind the walls." She ground her teeth together, remembering when her father would scold her for thinking of such foolish things.

_"A female only has two roles in this world: to be a wife and mother. She also keeps her mouth shut when in the presence of guest, you ungrateful brat!"_

Ivan Mades' glare calmed during her little speech, sensing that she often had harmful occurrences with her parents. They gazed at one another for a while, an awkward silence between cadet and teacher resolving around them. He watched as the young girl lowered her stare to her boots before speaking, "Get to bed, cadet." And then he walked away, shutting the door softly behind him.

Percy stood there for a moment prior to smiling, and putting the book back on the shelf — making a mental note to come back tomorrow.


End file.
